All Forum Posts by: Gigi Eleni

@Gigi Eleni

Encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.

Even if someone give you a referral, don’t make the mistake of assuming that PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.

We also can’t believe how many owners hire the first PMC they speak with!

Then they complain their expectations aren’t being met!

In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.

It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

Owners mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, so price is the only differentiator – and they often select the first PMC they call!

So, the first question they usually ask a PMC is about fees - instead of asking about services and HOW those services are executed.

EXAMPLE: PMC states they will handle tenant screening – what does that specifically mean? What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.? You’d be shocked by how little actual screening many PMC’s do!

This also leads owners to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.

The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it!

We have a 14-page management contract that we've added our real experiences to over the years, with the intent of protecting both us AND the landlord. Beyond the Monthly Management, Placement & Maintenance fees, all other fees in our contract are IF EVENT -> THEN fees.

We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processes

We recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

P.S. If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general. Take ownership of your mistake and learn to do the proper due diligence recommended above😊

Mainstay property management are very organized and responsive. They handle both large and small portfolios with the same service.  I’d reach out to discuss your needs/ see if they are a good fit for you. Website link here: https://www.mainstaymanagement.com/

best of luck! 

Try Goldberg Group Property Management

@Gigi Eleni, 

Hi there, interesting scenario you have. 
Everyone seems to be giving awesome solutions to your issue. And personally I also believe your situation is just better to resolve by getting in those new appliances. Definitely don’t hassle yourself with any “repairing” and having to deal with this situation once again in the future. 

Please do give an update on how this plays out. I would love to hear the outcome! 

@Gigi Eleni anyone can sue for anything they want. And they will usually find a lawyer that is willing to take on the most frivolous case. If you have documentation that they made it difficult for you to do the repair then you may win, but you also could lose depending on the judge. Either way in a lawsuit you will probably lose because of the time, money and stress you incur.

Personally I wouldn’t be spending extra to send a repair person on a weekend. Next time either you or a PM needs to meet the repair person there as soon as possible giving tenant appropriate notice. I also don’t typically mess around with older appliances in rentals for this reason - scheduling repairs is a pain. Buy new, try to sell the old one on Facebook marketplace to recoup a little of the cost.

Are you renting condo or town/house? My answer will depend on what type of property it is.

In general, a month is lots of gap for the fix. I say work with the tenant and provide alternative. They might not go to the court for something that is less than 200 or so, I guess. But the thing is, they have your property and they will rage on it and you will have a bad property when they leave.

Also, put yourself in their shoes, if they were renting from apartment, it won't take that long, why should they tolerate when it is from you? At the end of the day, they are paying. 

Probably if it is taking 3-4 weeks for part, it might be old appliance and better change it sooner as it will pop up with another issue.